Have you ever noticed how groups of women who have been friends for years and years tend to fall into certain “roles”? Like on Sex in the City, if I said “the smart one” or “the romantic one” you would probably know exactly which characters I was talking about. If you watched The Real Housewives of Orange County, I bet you know which lady is “the ditzy one” and which lady is “the professional one”.  My group of long time girlfriends definitely have our roles within our group too…it is an interesting dynamic to watch.

The reason all of these thoughts popped into my head is because Limelight Theatre’s final play of their 18th season is the Dixie Swim Club. Guess what? It is about five women who became friends in college and who continue to meet each year at the same beach house and share their lives together over the next six decades. Of course, the “roles” ebb and flow through their lives, but for the most part there is the successful one, the sexy one, the tragic one, the caregiving one and the innocent one. Watching how they share and grow and stumble and get back up makes you consider the value of your own friendships and your own identity. Along the way though you laugh quite a bit – and cry just a little too. So grab your group of girlfriends and head to Limelight Theatre this weekend. Because of the show’s huge success during its original run, the Limelight Theatre is offering “held over” performances this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. After the show, share a glass of wine or two with your friends and try to figure out which “role” you play in your own group! And, if your group is especially interesting just let me know, we may be able to start a Real Housewives of World Golf Village!

Times are good for First Atlantic Bank. A little over three years old, the local bank was unscathed by the recession.  With no bad loans, First Atlantic enjoys a 4-star rating from Bankrate.com – the second highest rating in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area.  According to Luciano Noir-Jones, St. Augustine Market Executive Vice President, the rating means, “Depositors money is safe with us.” 

Perhaps even more surprising in today’s environment is that First Atlantic Bank is lending. “Our capital is strong,” said Noir-Jones. “We’re actively lending to local businesses, from retail stores and restaurants to service-oriented companies, in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.  We anticipate doing about 20 SBA loans this year,” he added. 

First Atlantic is also strong in residential home lending. First Atlantic is one of the few lenders still doing construction to permanent loans and lot loans. Says Noir-Jones, “We underwrite and keep residential loans on our books, instead of selling them off.  This allows us to be more flexible for cases where a borrower, or the home they are buying, do not fit in the ideal box – recent examples are a high loan-to-value situation and a condo loan.”  First Atlantic recently teamed with Davidson Realty to have the bank’s Residential Mortgage Officer Jay Pardue onsite at Davidson’s office in World Golf Village two days a week.  Says Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson, “This is a great opportunity for homebuyers since they can get expert advice on home loans on the spot.”

First Atlantic Bank has two locations in Jacksonville and two locations in St. Augustine – at Palencia and at Cobblestone Village. It has local investors and local board members. It’s tuned into the Northeast Florida market. Sherry Davidson recently joined First Atlantic’s Advisory Board. “We’ve been a very happy customer of First Atlantic, so I welcomed the opportunity to join fellow business owners on their Advisory Board. Rare is a bank that never fails to treat you like a valued customer,” said Davidson.

What do you have going on Thursday nights? I bet it doesn’t compare to the great music and atmosphere of Concerts in the Plaza! Have you heard about this? Thursdays at 7 PM up until Labor Day you can listen to a wide variety of music in St. Augustine’s Plaza de la Constitucion for FREE! All you have to do is bring a lounge chair or a blanket to sit on. You can even have a nice picnic dinner with your family while enjoying blues, bluegrass, jazz, country, swing, folk, or pop rock.

There is even a concert tonight, August 12th – Big Pineapple will be playing some Hawaiian Jazz!

Ok, so coming up:

August 19: Mischief Express (Popular American Jazz Standards)

August 26: Rob Peck & Friends (Acoustic R&B/Classic Rock)

 September 2: Skin ‘n Bonz & The Big Hungry Boys (Old-Time & Bluegrass)

September 6: The St. Augustine Jazz Society

This is a great way to spend a date night or a night on the town with the family and who could ask for more when it’s free! And, what better place than downtown St. Augustine with all the beautiful oak trees and quaint little shops. It’s the perfect place to relax or get up and dance. Go out and try something new on a Thursday night and let us know what you think!

Check out this website to see a map to the Plaza or to get any more information: http://www.staugustinegovernment.com/sites/concerts-plaza/index.cfm or call (904) 825-1004

If you weren’t able to make St. Johns County School Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Joyner’s very informative presentation at Davidson Realty’s Davidson Speaker Series a couple weeks ago, you might not be aware of these very impressive facts. Here are 5 reasons parents should choose to send their kids to our schools:

1. St. Johns County Schools ranked in the top 14% of the nation in “What Parents Want” in public schools.
2. Our schools received first overall ranking out of 67 counties on FCAT scores
3. On the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (compared to other districts in the state) Grade 3, 4, and 5 took first place in both reading and math. Grade 9 and 10 took first in reading. Grade 11 took third in science. The list goes on and on!
4. The School System has received an A grade eight years in a row (one of only 10 school districts in the state)
5. And, lastly, we are lucky enough to have Dr. Joseph G. Joyner as our Superintendent. He was the 2009 Florida Superintendent of the Year!

Dr. Joyner also explained how selective the process is in choosing teachers for your children. He listed future plans to expand the schools to accommodate more children. He talked about how even with budget cuts, the children’s activities and fun have not been sacrificed. The schools still provide art and PE, which a lot of schools can’t say. These really are only a few reasons why our school system is excellent. For more information go to www.stjohns.k12.fl.us

The World Golf Foundation recently announced that the next World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the World Golf Village on Monday, May 9, 2011.  The ceremony’s date is very fortunate and strategic, as it is targeted to kick off the week of festivities and competition of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.  The direct tie-in between the world-famous, globally-broadcast Players Championship and the sport’s Hall of Fame and Shrine induction should be of great benefit for all aspects of the game, the region and our community.
 
The announcement was made on July 22 by Jack Peter, World Golf Foundation COO and Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner. Jack Peter said, “Staging the annual Induction Ceremony in the heart of the golf season, just before one of golf’s most thrilling events, is a great opportunity for the Hall of Fame.” The World Golf Foundation is also keen about developing and scheduling other related events and activities, wrapped around that timeframe, that can extend the appeal and relevance of the induction
 
A few years ago, the PGA TOUR was successful in moving the famed Players Championship from March to May. Doing so, created a stand-alone platform for the event and eliminated any interpretation that it was a warm-up to the Masters. Now, the golf season features a 5 month series of showcase, major tournaments, from April to August, comprised of; The Masters in April, The Players Championship in May, The US Open Championship in June, The Open Championship in July and The PGA Championship in August.

Every month, The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village selects a resident from the Jacksonville golf course community to be featured in our blog. Then we ask them a series of random questions so all the neighbors get to know them better! This month we are pleased to introduce you to Eunice Johannesen. Eunice and her husband, Tom, moved to the King & Bear at WGV about five years ago. Since their children are grown and live out-of-state, they recently adopted two Jack Russell puppies, Maggie and Patrick. Meet Eunice…

1. What is your favorite thing about living in WGV?

The beautiful landscaping and overall beauty/impression one gets of the developer’s diligence to the environment.  Other important things are security and the protection that the deed restrictions provide homeowners.  WGV allows us to be active in many ways — golf, walking, biking, swimming and easy access to the beach.

2. What makes a house a home?

A house is a home when it’s filled with comfort and love, good neighbors and friends, which includes many visits from our out-of-state families and friends.

3. What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner?

The best part of Thanksgiving dinner is having family join our table and cooking all the traditional Thanksgiving foods.  I am especially fond of the stuffing!

4. How will our culture change in the next 100 years?

1.  I believe there will be a decline in population growth. 2.  The greenhouse effect will cause a dying earth with drastic changes in climate affecting all of the people of the world, as well as wild life.  The Arctic and Antarctic ice caps will melt.  3.  I believe space exploration will eventually lead to solar power for the world in the future, decreasing our dependency on oil.  4.  People will continue to feel compassion and love, and have the desire to help each other in times of need. 5.  I can envision the future way wars will be fought will not involve humans being put in harms way, but rather technology will be sophisticated enough by that time to fight wars with robots operated from a safe environment with strategic goals being much more realistic. The ravages of war  will continue.  6.  Hopefully there will be a cure for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.  In fact, research may very well have developed vaccines for these diseases, and other serious diseases, by that time!

We have a serious soft spot for pets.  And we’re pretty sure you do too.  You might even think your pet is the cutest, most lovable, smartest and all-around most wonderful animal ever.  We get it.  In fact, we would LOVE to see how wonderful your pet is.  Whether your pet is truly adorable or only a mug a mother could love, we want your best photo.  Get ready.  Our Pet Photo Contest starts August 1st. The photo with the most votes will win a $100 gift certificate to Petco.

To submit a photo please email it to pdavidson@davidsonrealtyinc.com

I first started going to Carrie & Co. Hair Designers about six months ago because my friend with the best hair recommended it.  To be fair, her strawberry blond tresses with perfectly sunkissed highlights are something few of us can ever achieve. But she always has a great cut too and that is something we could all use. 

I’ve not been disappointed. Both Stacy and Carrie herself have given me great haircuts. So good, in fact, that I can “fix” my hair myself and make it look as good as the day I leave the salon.  (For those of you who know me personally, I acknowledge that I don’t make my hair salon perfect every day but I can when I really want to!)  Carrie & Co. is known for doing great cuts and color. Owner Carrie Leake explained, “One of the things that makes us different is that we truly customize color to the cut.  We charge clients on a per foil basis instead of just a half-head of color or full-head.  That way, I can give you just those couple of pops of highlights that will bring out your cut and suit your face and you’re not getting over charged.” 

Carrie & Co. has been open at W. Twincourt Trail (just in front of BP facing International Golf Parkway) for about a year-and-a-half and news has spread.  Now, Carrie is opening another location next to Starbuck’s in the Palencia shopping center.  The new boutique salon, called WOW! will focus on cut and color, and will open September 1^st.  Carrie will split her time between the two locations and Amy Jones, who was recently promoted to Senior Stylist, will be featured at WOW!

Every other month, The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village hosts a “Post for Prizes” contest on our Facebook page. It is a pretty simple contest. All you have to do is submit an answer to whatever the question of the month is. (My favorite question so far is, “What is your favorite line from Caddyshack?”) This month all you had to do was name one of the top 5 reasons the World Golf Village golf courses are the best. The person with the best answer wins a different prize each month. For July, Michael Stockwell gave the best answer and won a $100 gift card to the golf pro shop! Congratulations Michael!

Although all of the answers were wonderful, I was surprised that the chilled apples served on the 1st and 10th tees of both courses weren’t mentioned….Neither was the iced towels handed out by the player assistants on hot days or the GPS in every cart. I guess there are so many great things about the courses, we should have made it a top 10 list instead!  Here we go with the winning 5…

5. The WGV golf courses are core golf courses. The Slammer & Squire has no road crossings and the King & Bear has only one. Traffic never interferes with our play!

4. Both courses are maintained to the highest standards. The grounds crew is second to none!

3. Both courses boast the most beautiful natural setting imaginable! The courses meander under ancient live oaks and next to sparkling lakes.

2. The people who we get to play with – from our neighbors to our out-of-town guests – bring the course to life and make it incredibly fun!

1. And the #1 reason WGV golf courses are the best anywhere is our courteous & helpful staff! They welcome us with a big smile and a positive attitude ALWAYS!

Please feel free to add any reasons we missed! And watch for our next Post for Prizes contest in September…

World Golf Village residents won’t want to miss Dr. Joseph Joyner, Superintendent of Schools for St. Johns County, discussing important education topics and the outlook for our schools. The event is part of Davidson Realty’s Davidson Speaker Series on Thursday, July 29th at 7:00 p.m. There will be tons of great information for our Jacksonville golf course community parents!

During Dr. Joyner’s tenure as Superintendent, the St. Johns County’s School System has earned recognition as one of the best in the country. The county’s schools are number 1 on the FCAT scores, graduation rates have risen to 90.8%, and, year-after-year, the district earns an A rating.  Joyner has been the recipient of the Superintendent of the Year award and has served as President of the Florida School Superintendent Association.

Dr. Joyner’s presentation, “What Parents Want,” addresses both the successes and challenges facing the school system, budget concerns and how the community can help support its students and local schools.

The Davidson Speaker Series is a monthly event started by Sherry Davidson, President of Davidson Realty, Inc. so that local professionals could share their expertise with the community. Wine and cheese are served and the event is free and open to the public. For more information call (904) 940-5000. We hope to see you on July 29th in the Davidson Realty building for a wonderful presentation!